


The rise of the Avatar

by Yoongss



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bottom Park Jimin (BTS), Character Death, Crack, Drama, Elemental Magic, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Falling In Love, Family Drama, Firsts, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender, Love at First Sight, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Misunderstandings, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Original Character(s), Pining, Possessive Behavior, Sex, Slow Burn, Smut, Soulmates, Sweet, Topping, Violence, covid made me write it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:14:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24337216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yoongss/pseuds/Yoongss
Summary: Taehyung is an outcast prince from Woodheart, a kingdom that has so far been spared by the war the Fire Nation started two decades ago. Taehyung is questioning his place in the world, caged in the same forest he was meant to spend his life protecting. The Fire Nation is marching East, closing in on the last standing city of the Water Kingdom; Athia’s Fall. The world is in desperate need of the Avatar, someone that can restore balance to the rest of the four Nations.Can the Avatar, with the help of Water Ambassador Alto’s son, a lost prince, a blind assassin, a boy from a traveling circus, a mechanic, and a conflicted soldier from Athia’s Fall stop the war in time? Can a gang of misfits manage to work together to stop the Fire Lord before next spring? Who knows what fate has in store.‘I never said that I wanted to be the Avatar, I never chose my own fate. I have no more control over it than I have a choice whether it should rain tomorrow or not. But I wouldn't have it any other way because if I wasn't who I am, then I would never have met you, and that seems to be a much crueler fate.’
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga, Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin, Min Yoongi | Suga/Park Jimin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	The rise of the Avatar

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story taking place in a similar universe to ALTA, so if you like that and BTS this is the story for you. Please leave a comment if you want me to continue this fanfic.

Part one; Woodhearth.

Meliai is louder than usual, the old forest twisting and turning underneath the moons watchful gaze, bathing the valley in her soft, silver light. The Haldi are restless tonight, which is never a good omen. Golden globes of light swing in harmony to the sound of wind chimes, hanging low from tree branches as old as the forest itself. Kazuki puts her wrinkly palm flat against the front door of her cottage, feeling the wood shift before sighing softly as if resettled. Calming underneath her healing fingers. If only she could offer the same strength to the young prince currently pretending to be asleep in her front garden.

The first quarter moon has come and gone during Taehyung’s stay and Kazuki has gotten more conversation out of the north star than she has from the boy. It was a poor decision on the queen's behalf to send her son away and Kazuki had told her as much. ‘You can't change the boy’s destiny, Rana, the runes have already told us as much, by sending him away you'll only change the way he sees you and himself.’ The queen had wanted to send her son to Hamadryas, to learn from the shamans in their sister tribe but Kazuki had offered to teach the boy herself. She knew the prince, had watched him grow from a restless toddler to an adventurous young boy with a heart as big as Akka’s and Kazuki would rather offer herself up to the Stallo Giants than watch her prince lose his heart. ‘Taehyung must be the avatar before he is my son,’ the queen had responded, a goddess in her own right, luminous like the moon and spirit touched by Mana but even she could be wrong.

Kazuki pushes her front door open. A light breeze strokes her wrinkled cheek in greeting, tugging at the braids in her grey hair with affectionate fingers. The moon is but a quarter yet unusually bright, offering a protective silver blanket to proud tree crowns. There's a rustle of greenery, of leaves and branches shifting underneath the weight of life together with a choir of cicadas. A small tiki tent has been put up in her front garden. Made out of colorful quilts and blankets held carefully together by yarn and fallen tree branches. Kazuki can make out the silhouette of a small child behind one of the blankets, framed by gentle candlelight. The old woman smiles to herself the gesture makes the red ink marks framing her eyes crinkle.

Kazuki leans against her walking stick, it's taller than she is, despite the height her Okobo sandals are offering. Cut from a single piece of hollowed wood, leaving room for a small bell that sings with each step she takes. The sound warns the young prince of her arrival before he can see her. The light inside the tent quickly dies and Kazuki can hear the rustle from pillows and blankets moving.

The young prince is feigning sleep once she manages to pry the two quilts to the tens opening apart. Fiery, red hair pokes out like ruffled quills from underneath one of the blankets. Taehyung has even taken it upon himself to feign a soft snore, small shoulders rising and falling with the effort of it. ‘I might be old but I’m not blind, child,’ Kazuki tells the lump of blankets, moving further in and pulling the quilts close behind her.

‘Hey!’ Taehyung cries, forced to shuffle further into the tent in order to accommodate the old medium. Kazuki grunts in response, reaching for the unlit lantern resting on a small stack of books. She is not a bender, people from Woodhearth don’t bend the elements, they don't consider themselves masters over them. They worship Akka and ask Mano for guidance. They mediate to the sound of the forest breathing while they observe the connection between all living things. No, the Meliai tribe has never been a birthplace for strong benders. However, that doesn't mean that Kazuki can't ask Baeivi to lend her his light. She whispers his name, offers the warmth of her breath, and the stillness of her mind and thinks of fire. The lantern lights up with a small flicker, casting the inside of the tent in a soft warm glow. Kazuki puts the candle down and sends a silent thanks to Baeivi.

‘You're a fire bender?’ A small voice whispers in awe. Kazuki turns her head towards the boy, the crystals in her ears glinting with the teasing promise of ancient tales and wisdom gained by a long life well-lived.

‘Don't be silly, child,’ the old woman chastises. ‘It will rain in the Badlands before I become a firebender. I simply asked Baeivi to lend me his fire in order for me to see what book you've been hiding in here all day with,’ she says, holding up a wrinkly, ring clad hand in the boy’s direction, waving him forward impatiently. ‘So, show me.’ Taehyung hesitates for a handful of seconds before he shifts, pulling a book out from underneath one of the pillows. It's almost the same size as the big atlases Kazuki keeps in her library. She closes her fingers around its blue leather cover, turning it the right side up in her lap. its The saga of the last Avatar. ‘Where did you get this from?’ She asks the boy whos doing his very best not to meet her gaze. His pointy ears are flushed a soft pink, dark, emerald green eyes firmly planted on the floor. Mistaking her worry for anger.

‘The Water Kingdom Ambassador Alto’s son, Namjoon, gave it to me last time they visited it's a popular story for children in their home kingdom,’ Taehyung offers, small fingers twisting nervously around the ear of a blanket. Oh, Akka, Kazuki thinks sadly, her queen has been too harsh with the boy. ‘I know that mother told me not to waste my time with such stories but-’ The old medium interrupts the boy by opening the book. She is greeted by a waterfall, brought to life with the help of print, paint and ancient water bending. She can smell stagnant rock and almost taste salt, thick in the air. Can hear the siren calls from the swirling depths of the Sapphire sea that she remembers still so clearly, echoing through the halls of the last standing capital of the water kingdom; Athia’s Fall.

‘It's magic, isn't it?’ The young prince whispers, staring at her with big green eyes containing childish wonder.

‘Don't be silly, child,’ the old woman chuckles. ‘There is no such thing as magic. It's old bending. Water never forgets. It doesn't take a lot of energy in order to make it remember. Especially not Luna’s own kingdom.’ She turns the page. The lantern inside the tent flickers as if disturbed by the wind. Taehyung moves closer towards her until he is pressed against her side, peeking over her arm to get a better look at the book in her lap.

‘It's Avatar Roku,’ Taehyung says, staring at the illustration of the previous avatar but contrary to what the rest of the world believes, not the last. Kazuki doesn't know what made the spirits break the chain of the avatars’ reincarnation. Only for the first avatar to be born twenty years later after Roku’s disappearance as the prince of Woodhearth, a land untouched by the war and overlooked by the rest of the four kingdoms because of their lack of strong benders. However, Kazuki has learned not to question the spirits or their plans because so little knowledge will come from it. It's not her place to question after all.

‘He was the last avatar,’ Taehyung continues, oblivious to the old woman’s thoughts. Kazuki had agreed with her queen, the prince was too young still to learn of his destiny. Even though her concerns where of a different nature. She wants the boy to grow up like a boy. Without the fate of the world resting on his small shoulders. Kazuki disagrees with her queen, Taehyung needs to learn how to be a boy before he learns how to be the avatar. Kazuki has promised Akka as much. She refuses to help the queen hide her son, to raise him as the avatar, no, Kazuki knew from the second she offered to take the boy in that she had accepted to raise a son.

‘Twenty years ago the Fire Nation attacked. Declaring war against the Water Kingdom and the city of Athia’s Fall. The queen, with the help of her silver knights and the tide, fought graciously against the fire kingdom and Avatar Roku––’ Kazuki turns another page and Taehyung huddles even closer, seeking her warmth and she offers it without hesitation, ruffling the boys unruly, red hair with affection.

‘Athia’s Fall still stands, the last remaining city of the Water Kingdom. Closing its borders once and for all. It is said that Avatar Roku still lives, caught in the dangerous waters of Athia. Forever lost to the Sapphire sea. Bringing an end to the war and ridding the world of the Avatar for good.’ Yet, the war is far from over. Kazuki has heard stories from pilgrims passing through their tribe. Stories about ash falling from the sky like snow. Heard tales about the fire nations Red army marching, even now, towards the city of Vox in the land of Winds. Kazuki stares at the boy, the first avatar to be born in nearly two decades, sitting by her shoulder in the form of a small boy. She thinks about all the blood Roku must have spilled about the war he helped to start yet all she can see when she looks at Taehyung is a child with a heart as big as their tribe. A child with unruly bangs and eyes as green as the Meliai forest. She loves the boy, has loved him from the second he was born, his screams echoing through the halls of the spirit tree. Kazuki had been first to hold him, after helping the queen to deliver him into this world and the spirits had immediately let themselves be known, whispering names from different lifetimes in greeting to the newborn child. She had promised herself back then, with the same prayer she now sends to Akka every full moon, to never let any harm befall her prince. She knows that Taehyung is going to change the world one day but right now he is nothing more but a boy from Woodhearth being read a story by the light of a candle much like hundreds of other children. So for now, the world can wait because Kazuki has a son to raise.

* * *

_Ten years later._

‘Faster, Pip!’ Taehyung yells. Laughing when the Parchin chirps in response, matching the boy’s speed with the help of her soft, green wings. Taehyung’s feet barely have time to touch the ground, a pattern of rooftops and green landscape disappearing and reappearing underneath him. The sun is a pinprick on the horizon, caught in tall tree crowns. Painting the sky with shocks of orange and bright pinks. Meliai has just started to awaken, the valley coming to life with the sound of birdsong promising an end to this year's winter.

‘Prince Taehyung!’ A woman cries, opening her window just in time to see her young prince and a Parchin come flying down from her roof in a blur of red and green. Using his wooden staff in order to gain a couple of extra meters, almost defying gravity before landing on light feet.

‘Sorry!’ The young prince laughs, offering a little spin and a quick wave of apology before taking off again, down a narrow street framed by houses so old they've started to melt into the greenery, becoming a part of history and the forest itself.

It's the first day of spring. Taehyung can't believe that it's been nearly a year since he last saw the blue sails of Water Ambassador Alto’s ship seek harbor in the turquoise waters of the Saajve fjord. Homes, growing close together in the shadow of high tree crowns paves the way to a road laid by red granites, gleaming dully in the morning sun. The forest is not as dense this close to the harbor. High, green mountaintops frame the valley in a v formation leading down towards a small beach busy with movement. Taehyung spots Alto’s ship down by the harbor– sails folded like a sun fan– sticking out like a sore thumb next to the red kayaks favored by the Meliai tribe. Taehyung picks up speed, excited by the sight of the ship. The boy’s red hair shifts in the wind like a fickle forest fire, promising mischief. Kazuki has told Taehyung more than once that one must be respectful with their requests to the spirits, that old gods rarely listen to selfish prayers. Yet the young prince has found that the spirits seem to have taken a liking to him, staying close in order to find out what he is plotting next. ‘Bieggolmai.’ Taehyung whispers the ancient name, belonging to the god of summer winds. ‘Would you lend me your strength in order to settle an old debt?’ The Parchin chirps in dismay, sensing the shift in the wind. Taehyung offers her his hand and she quickly grabs hold of him with her small paws, climbing the length of his arm until she's safely hidden in the crook of his neck.

The young prince smiles when Bieggolmai answers his request. Lending the boy his wind. ‘Hold on tight, Pip!’ Taehyung laughs, shooting forward with the precision of an arrow in the direction of the docks. The forest is nothing but a blur of rich greens, the wind whistling in the boy’s ear, a well-known melody that Taehyung thinks sounds like summer. Echoing in memories of summer days spent exploring high tree crowns by Kazuki’s cottage, miles away from the heart of the tribe. The boy has impatiently waited for a year, counting down the days till he would finally see Alto and the water ambassadors son again. Offering a glimpse of the world that lays beyond Woodhearth’s great forest. Taehyung picks up speed, his smile spreading with excitement. He has waited nearly a year to settle his debt with the water ambassador and this time he is nothing but ready.

* * *

‘Stop looking at your watch,’ Chaya scolds her captain. She has been traveling with the man for almost five years now and never once seen him consult his clock for the time. Usually too busy with his nose stuck in old Atlases to even guess what day it is.

‘I keep forgetting this is the first time you accompany father to Woodhearth,’ the water ambassador’s son, Namjoon, says. The boy has a smile on his face, watching the crew unpacking their ship with a sentimentality no one his age has the right to feel. Chaya turns towards her captain with a frown on her face. Her chestnut brown eyes questioning.

‘I thought we had a good relationship with Woodhearth?’ She asks.

‘Oh yes, the Water Kingdom and Woodhearth have long been allies, I would even claim them to be our biggest import of knowledge even though the Air scholars from Vox would kill me if they heard me admit as much,’ Alto responds, pushing his round spectacles further up the bridge of his nose without taking his eyes off the harbor.

‘So what's the problem?’ Chaya pushes, folding her arms over her chest.

‘I have a lot to lose, returning here.’ Alto tells her. Namjoon snorts.

‘I'm not sure who's worse, you or Taehyung. He wrote to me all winter asking when we would return so that he could properly take his revenge,’ the boy says, shaking his head. ‘It's a shame the queen won't let him visit.’

‘A shame indeed,’ Alto agrees, stroking a hand through his greying beard. It has been a year since he last saw the young avatar, the boy had still been unaware of his own destiny much to Alto’s anger. He had risked more than his friendship with Queen Rana venting his disagreement of withholding the boy his own fate. Of her sending away her own son, of keeping the avatar of all people isolated from the rest of the four nations ignorant about the state of the war. Alto has always made a point of staying far away from the political side of the war, he never cared about serving a greater good by finding out that Taehyung is the avatar. If the boy grew up and decided that all he wanted to do was to become a farmer, nothing would make the water Ambassador happier than to wish him good luck. However, the boy is the avatar and as the avatar, he deserves a chance to master all four elements. To explore the world his past selves have helped to create throughout history. Alto thinks about Namjoon and all the journeys his son has accompanied him on, journeys that have helped shape Namjoon into the young man that is proudly standing beside him today. It is a boy's right to experience adventure.

‘Ambassador Alto!’ An old man yells, running towards them up from one of the ramps securing safe passage between his ship and the docks.

‘Dockmaster Matthu,’ Alto greets turning towards the old man that’s red-faced from running, clutching a stack of scrolls underneath one arm. ‘What can I do for you?’

‘You told me to fetch you should I sight the young prince,’ Matthu huffs out of breath, pulling a hand through his long white beard as if to untangle it.

‘Ah, excellent,’ Alto responds, clasping his hands together. ‘Daichi!’ He yells in the direction of a dark-haired, young deck boy. ‘Would you bring us my Mahjong table and a pot of Jasmine tea, please.’

‘Of course, captain!’ The boy responds, hurrying down below deck.

‘Mahjong?’ Chaya echoes. ‘Why would you–’ She doesn't have time to finish her question before a blur of green and red shoots past them. With the impact of a smaller tornado. Chaya has to lift her arms up in order to protect her face from the strong wind. Eyes tearing. A loud bang follows the noise of glass breaking. The deck master looks up expecting the worst, her sword is already drawn when she spots Namjoon helping a red-headed Woodhearth boy to stand up from a pile of debris that used to contain all their sample bottles.

Taehyung shakes his head, ridding his hair of shattered glass. ‘You!’ He says, stretching until he is tall on his toes, pointing at the water ambassador and taking a deep breath before screaming, ‘I challenge you to a game of Mahjong!’

Namjoon has known Taehyung almost all his life. He met the prince for the first time while accompanying his father on one of his journeys to the Meliai tribe almost sixteen years ago. Long before the fire nation and the land of winds signed their peace contract. It had still been dangerous to travel back then, especially underneath the colors of the water nation so soon after the battle of Athia’s Fall. Namjoon clearly remembers standing by his father’s side, searching for the fire nation's black sails along the horizon with fear shimmering in the pit of his stomach.

Namjoon knows his father very well, he knows that the old man would rather lie down dead than end his constant quest as a cartographer. The water ambassador has always had a great interest in the rest of the four nations, traveling purely out of his own fascination with discovering different cultures rather than by any obligations he might have as an ambassador for the water kingdom. Therefore Namjoon hadn't been as surprised as he could have been, learning that Taehyung is the Avatar, considering his father’s obsession. ‘You can't tell anyone about this, not even the boy himself.’ His father had told him. ‘No one can know, especially not the water kingdom, avatar Roku's betrayal is still a fresh wound. The world needs time to heal and Taehyung needs time to grow up.’ However, Namjoon’s father had been furious once he realized that the Queen of Woodhearth had no intention of letting Taehyung know of his own destiny any time soon. Ever since Alto’s ship has gone on yearly journeys to the Meliai tribe. Much to Namjoon’s delight. It didn't take much for him to grow close with the young prince. Namjoon has spent more than one summer at Kazuki’s cottage and before he realized it Taehyung became more than the avatar to him. He became a close friend. And Namjoon is currently watching his friend lose to his father in a game of Mahjong.

‘I see that the past winter has done little for your patience, my young prince,’ Alto says, taking a sip from his teacup before robbing Taehyung of another one of his tiles. ‘Did you read the books I sent you?’

‘All the books you sent me were about the history of the city Vox,’ Taehyung grumbles, lifting one of his tiles only to put it back down again, pulling a hand through his unruly hair. ‘I fail to see how reading about the construction of their great library could help me to defeat you in a game of Mahjong.’

‘Oh, good, so you have read them,’ the water ambassador chuckles. ‘Sapientia Dae Versitasa: Knowledge is truth. Fascinating people, the wind children, they can spend days in a row meditating to the sound of the wind echoing between their high mountains. That my young boy, is patience, something every good Mahjong player needs.’

‘Patience is boring, I prefer luck,’ Taehyung grins witch earns him a chuckle from the water ambassador.

‘Luck is a foolish man's game,’ Alto grins. ‘Luck is what a faithless man calls hope. You need to believe you can beat me, you won’t win until you do.’

‘Remind me again of why I'm playing this game with either of you?’ Namjoon asks even though he knows full well that you need at least three people in order to play a proper game of Mahjong.

‘Don't be silly boy,’ his father scolds him. The water ambassador closes his lips around his pipe, welcoming a drag of smoke before breathing out through his nose like a tired old dragon. ‘Your company is much appreciated per usual.’

‘Thanks, father,’ Namjoon mumbles, shaking his head. ‘Surely we need to start our journey soon, or otherwise, you'll have to explain to the queen of Woodhearth why we are late.

‘I'm sure Rana won't mind once she finds out I've been teaching her son how to play a good game of Mahjong,’ Alto responds, waving his son off. ‘Besides–’ The water ambassador moves one of his tiles, smacking it against the table with more force than necessary. ‘I win.’ Namjoon leans forward, counting four sets and a pair and sighs.

‘Ah!’ The young prince exclaims, leaning back with his arms crossed. Pip, the boy’s Parchin chirps in response, peeking out from underneath a lock of red hair.

‘Don't worry, our bet is still standing, you have until your eighteenth birthday to beat me,’ Alto smiles. ‘Perhaps luck will be on your side next year, hm?’ Namjoon leans back until he's laying flat against the deck, rubbing at his eyes with close fists. Knowing that the prince is going to fill most of his future letters with promises to beat his father next spring. Namjoon sighs, it's going to be a long winter.

* * *

Taehyung doesn't mind traveling on horseback even though he would much prefer walking. Wanting to spend as much time as possible exploring this part of the forest that he so rarely gets to visit. It only takes a couple of hours to journey from the harbor to the roots of the spirit tree. The heart of his tribe. Home to Rana, the queen of Woodhearth. Taehyung hasn’t seen his mother in nearly a year. Not since last year's celebration of the March equinox. When the night is as long as day and day is as long as the night. Perfect balance, that's what Kazuki always says. ‘Nothing brings more peace than balance, the equinox is an important celebration, it brings us closer to the other world and the spirits, the world in balance with itself.’ Taehyung frowns. He likes celebrating the coming of spring, mostly because Alto usually times his yearly visit so that he can attend the celebration. However, Taehyung’s relationship with his mother is complicated at best.

He remembers with clarity, the day before he was sent away to Kazuki’s cottage. Walking through the garden of the spirit tree holding his mother’s hand. ‘Tomorrow is an important day, Taehyung.’ His mother had said, her beauty transcending even such an old memory. Her palm had been soft against her son’s cheek, a welcoming warmth. ‘I need you to be strong. Kazuki is going to take you in, and it is important that you go with her without complaint, can you do that for me?’ And Taehyung had nodded, green eyes big and trusting. He barely saw his mother after that, her presence had been nothing more but a shadow throughout his childhood. She would visit, at first, during the summers. Arriving with gifts and sweets from the castle. Taehyung had begged her more than once to bring him back with her, but her response was always the same. ‘One day, you'll understand.’ Taehyung never did. Never understood why his mother had sent him away. He spent years trying to regain her love, holding on to the memory of his mother’s hand against his cheek. But the older the boy got the less he understood. He was the prince of Woodhearth and even though Taehyung never cared for his title he should have by tradition grown up in the spirit tree, preparing to one day take over after his mother. Taehyung doesn't need to ask the spirits in order to understand that his mother must have disowned him. He spent many nights his first couple of years in Kazuki’s care wondering, desperately. What he did wrong in order to earn his mother’s cold shoulder. However, the older Taehyung got the less he cared for a reason, settling on a bone heavy acceptance. If he couldn't be his mother’s son or the future king of Woodhearth he could at least be a good person, a good student for Kazuki, and a healing hand to his forest. Taehyung has made his peace with fate, accepting his role in the world, it might not be a big role but he owes it to Akka to give his own life meaning. Even if his only meaning would be to beat Alto at a game of Mahjong.

‘It's beautiful,’ Chaya, Alto’s deck officer whispers in awe, her ponytail swinging behind her with the help of her horse slow yet secure paste. Her sword safely tucked behind her saddle.

‘Yeah, it is, isn't it,’ Taehyung agrees, heart-swelling at the sight of the spirit tree. Growing proud and strong from a clearing in the forest, the trees and houses around it keeping a respectful distance, bowing underneath its luscious green crown. A castle in its own right, the crown jewel and heart of the forest. When Taehyung was a child he had thought that everyone lived in trees, grew up in sprouting life, and by the creaking of old roots. It was not until Kazuki had shown the boy her atlases that he understood, understood the complexity of the world around him. The differences between the nations. The water kingdom has its big city Athia, hidden at sea and protected by a waterfall rumored to have endless depth. The fire nation has cities, with houses made out of coal and rough stones, their streets endless hills of cobblestone. Kazuki often spoke about the Wind children that prefer to live in the high mountains, their city Vox a mecha for knowledge and science. And at last the Earth Lands. With its mysterious city of Chalk. Taehyung desperately wants to experience it, all of it, he can feel the world calling for him to explore it but Taehyung’s home is the forest. He will live and die in these woods just like his ancestors before him.

‘Is it a tree or a castle?’ Chaya asks.

‘Both,’ Alto speaks up, his riding just behind Taehyung, letting the young prince lead the way, tirelessly asking questions about every special rock formation or forest creature that perks his interest. ‘It's the spirit tree, the castle of Meliai and the heart of Woodhearth.’ If it wasn't for the trees mighty crown, proudly lit up by lanterns chasing away the early darkness of dusk. It would be nearly impossible to separate branches from staggering towers. Reaching up towards the sky with greedy fingers as if the castle has been grown rather than built.

‘We are celebrating Beaivi tonight and the coming of spring. Most people from the tribe will already have started to gather by the Seida in the throne room. Mother is waiting to welcome us in the garden,’ Taehyung says. The word, ‘mother’, feels foreign on his tongue. He rarely speaks about her nowadays, stopped asking Kazuki questions about her years ago once he realized that the old medium either didn't have any answers or the answer he was looking for.

‘I asked my men to bring salted fish from the water kingdom, as an offering for Baeivi. It's soon season for the summer tornados back in Athia, our people could do with a blessing from the sun god,’ Alto says. The water ambassador has a journal resting between his reins, the hand not holding them is currently busy with sketching the vaulted entrance to the spirit tree.

‘I'm sure Kazuki will be grateful for your offering and wouldn't mind sending a prayer of protection for your kingdom,’ the young prince answers, smiling once the road gets wide enough for him and Namjoon to ride side by side.

‘It would be an honor,’ Alto answers, too busy scribbling in his notebook to look up. They ride in comfortable silence. The spirit tree growing in size the closer they get. Every now and then natives from the forest will stop and wave at them. Eyes curious when they take in the water ambassador and his crew in their traditional water kingdom robes. Taehyung can feel their eyes linger on his back when they ride away. It's no secret that Taehyung is the crown prince of the Meliai tribe even if he is so in no other way but by title. He is not one of them but he is not a prince either. His own people have never understood how to approach him. So Taehyung spent most of his time away from the heart of the tribe, staying close to Kazuki’s cottage, nose stuck deep in old history and geography books. ‘One can travel in more ways than one,’ Kazuki would say every time Taehyung complained about being restless.

‘Father wants to ask the queen if she would let you come with us back to Athia’s Fall next spring and spend winter with us, we usually journey through the wind lands during winter but father thinks the war is heading east. I'd like it if you could come,’ Namjoon says, the two boys’ legs pumping together, riding side by side. Taehyung lowers his head, studying his grip around the reins of his horse. His hands are dirty from green earth and soil, calloused and scarred from years of exploring the forest.

‘Mother would never allow such a thing,’ Taehyung mumbles, sighing before looking up again. ‘I'm afraid to even ask.’ Namjoons dark eyebrows are furrowed in confusion.

‘Won't you be 18 next year? You're sixteen now, seventeen in a couple of weeks. Surely as a legal adult you should be allowed to travel as you please?’ Taehyung hasn't thought that far yet. The coming of age ceremony is a big celebration in his tribe, the family lights a fire and does an offering to Akka, asking the god to bless their child with luck and a long, prosperous life. Then you receive the mark of the crescent moon, officially welcoming you as a man or a woman into the tribe. Taehyung doesn't know if he will even have a coming of age celebration or receive a crescent moon mark since the prince usually gets marked with the sun of Baeivi. Kazuki has never mentioned it and Taehyung has been too afraid to ask.

‘I’d love to go, but I have asked mother before and she always says no, I can't see why she would change her mind,’ the young prince answers, shoulders folding inwards.

‘But that's insane! As the Av–’

‘Namjoon!’ Alto interrupts and the two boys quickly turn their heads in the water ambassador’s direction. ‘Don't pressure the boy, I will have word with queen Rana and make sure she understands the nature of your visit, it's an educational trip that I'm sure would bring our nation's closer, it's a prince's duty to learn of international affairs, especially in times such as these.’

‘I am no more prince than you, Alto,’ Taehyung sighs, mouth twisting downwards slightly from the pitying look Namjoon sends his way. ‘Yet there's no doubt in my mind that your word holds more weight than mine, so thank you, for your efforts.’ Alto pockets his journal, pushing his spectacles further up his nose, successfully shielding the scar above his left eye.

‘We shall see,’ the water ambassador responds before smiling. ‘Now, mind telling me about that crystal over there–’

* * *

Taehyung hasn't lived in the castle for over a decade. He can't remember when he stopped thinking of the spirit tree as his home. Vines with soft, purple leaves grow over polished rock and carved wood. Seeking out the moonlight shining through painted glass windows. Casting an abstract painting of dark purple, green, and blue over the floor. Woodhearth doesn't have an army or a court, they are a country of peace. Their forest has looked the same for hundreds of years and their people have lived the same for just as long. Their traditions are deeply rooted in their land and therefore, as a people, they rarely travel and get very few travelers in return.

‘This is the quickest way to the garden without using the front entrance, the throne room is probably packed with people by now, so I thought we could do with a shortcut,’ Taehyung says. The young prince rarely visits the castle and when he does his always accompanied by Kazuki yet it didn't take long for Taehyung to memorize every hidden corridor and secret pathway. This part of the castle has almost been completely reclaimed by nature. They are forced to step over roots and crouch underneath tree branches growing like bridges between vaulted walls. Taehyung likes this part of the castle, it's quiet here. Fireflies that live in the spirit tree, seeking shelter in its wind still hallways and low hanging branches light up their path. Offering them safe passage.

‘I've never been in this part of the castle before,’ Alto says.

‘These parts of the castle are rarely used, once nature has started to reclaim it we leave it be, this was a guest wing long ago when we still used to receive travelers, long before I was born. We still get pilgrims sometimes, that wants to learn from our tribe but they don't stay in the castle,’ Taehyung explains. ‘Mother is the only one except for old man Mogotsi that still lives in the spirit tree.’ Mogotsi is his mother’s advisor, a nearly deaf old man that Kazuki has never managed to see eye to eye with.

‘How come?’ Chaya asks.

‘Honestly, I don't know. The royal family, or the Airras as we used to call them when we still spoke our native language, have always lived in the spirit tree but the castle is a public domain, we never close the castle’s doors, people often come here to meditate or seek guidance from the spirits. The founder of our tribe was the Moonwalker, thousands of years ago, when he still walked amongst the living, the Airras is said to be his descendants.’

‘The moonwalker?’ Namjoon asks.

‘Luna,’ Alto clarifies. ‘In Woodhearth she is known as the Moonwalker, old spirits usually have more than one name, the Wind Children call her Lunara, in the Earth Lands she goes by the name of Eos. The five nations might seem different at first, but we share the same history, we are all connected to the spirits.’ Namjoon looks at the young prince, his dark eyes wide.

‘So you're a descendant of Luna?’

‘I wouldn't say that, perhaps once, a long time ago, you would have been able to trace my heritage back to the Moonwalker. Just like the avatar, people used to have a closer connection to the spirits,’ Taehyung responds.

‘You know, I knew avatar Roku,’ the water ambassador says. ‘Long before the war. The avatar is not meant to serve just one kingdom, he would often visit Athia’s Fall and studied underneath our water bending masters. I was just a child back then, nothing more but a youth lusting for adventure. He was a good Mahjong player and an excellent tea maker. One of the wisest men I will ever know. I consider it an honor to once have been able to call him my friend.’

‘What?’ Taehyung asks, stopping only so that he can face the water ambassador. ‘I thought that the water kingdom hates the last avatar, he was the one that led the Red Army against the Water Kingdom in the battle of Athia’s Fall.’ Alto hums, stopping as well. He has a small smile on his lips, eyes shielded by his spectacles.

‘That’s true,’ he responds, pulling a hand through his grey beard. ‘But the avatar that I knew would never have led an invasion against our kingdom. I'm not sure when he lost sight of his own path but I doubt it's as simple as we think. You don't wake up one day as a changed man, I don't know what happened but I still have hope in the Avatar.’

‘That’s foolish,’ The young prince blurts before he can stop himself, he sucks in a deep breath, opening his mouth ready to apologize but Alto just shrugs. Smiling.

‘It’s never foolish to have hope.’

Taehyung doesn't know how to respond so instead he keeps silent, turning away from the water ambassador and continuing their journey forward.

A soft breeze welcomes them once they reach the garden, entering through a vaulted archway into what feels like a different world. The garden is still a part of the spirit tree, it is only called the garden because there is no other name that suits it. Ruins, from crumbling towers and broken archways lay in the high grass like a cemetery for a civilization long gone. Moss clings to everything like a soft protecting blanket, covering tree trunks and everything that is man-made. A river with dark blue water runs through one of the archways like a ribbon of silver in the vague moonlight, fighting its way in between high tree crowns and a roof that is no longer a roof but an open void showcasing the night sky and a cosmos of twinkling stars and dying planets. Taehyung spots his mother, Rana, the queen of Woodhearth standing on a bridge above a pond, her reflection mirrored in its still water like a painting of rough brushstrokes. She is beautiful, she looks like a lost spirit, trapped in a time when gods used to walk the earth amongst the living. She looks nothing like her son, they are as different in appearance as night and day, fire and ice. Her hair is the color of freshly fallen snow, cascading like a waterfall down her back. The full moon mark on her forehead stands out in stark contrast against her pale skin, like blue ink against creamy white paper. She belongs here, effortlessly, a part of the scenery just as much as the Azalea trees that's in full bloom. The only thing the young prince shares with his mother is her green eyes, a shade lighter than his own, watching them arrive in silent acknowledgment.

‘Queen Rana,’ Alto greets once they are close enough to be heard over the wind, combing through green leaves. ‘I would bow, but I know how you detest it so.’ Rana looks at her son once, her eyes searching but giving nothing away before she moves her gaze towards the water ambassador.

‘Water Ambassador Alto, I've been waiting,’ Rana says. Her white dress billows behind her as if she's underwater. She moves with the same fluidity as if even the world around her hasn't decided if she's a goddess or not. She lifts her arm and Taehyung can hear the sound of wings, cutting through the air. An owl with white feathers and golden eyes comes flying down from a nearby tree, landing on the queen’s outstretched arm, claws gripping around a silver gauntlet.

‘Orion!’ Taehyung greets the owl, whose feathers are ruffled from old age. It's his mother’s messenger owl. Orion delivers most of Kazuki’s letters, staying around long enough for the young prince to groom her feathers and offer her a treat for her troubles. Orion has taken a liking to him, she stayed outside of Kazuki’s cottage this morning, waiting for Taehyung to pet her long after Kazuki had accepted her letter.

‘I was busy playing a game of Mahjong with your son,’ Alto responds, putting his hand on Taehyung’s shoulder, smiling from watching the young prince greet the old owl.

‘I got news from our sister tribe that I wish to discuss with you. I had hoped to meet with you sooner. The fire nation is marching east,’ the queen says, without taking her eyes off the water ambassador. Alto stays quiet for a couple of seconds before he lets go off Taehyung’s shoulder.

‘I see,’ he responds, folding his arms behind his back before turning towards the young prince. ‘Would you mind escorting Namjoon to the throne room? I asked Daichi to bring our offering for the ceremony from the ship, he must be waiting.’ Taehyung looks between the water ambassador and his mother with furrowed eyebrows but gives little else away. Alto’s eyes are warm, his smile encouraging, the corners of his lips hidden behind his mustache.

‘It would be my pleasure,’ Taehyung responds with an empty voice, forcing himself to return Alto’s smile. ‘Come on,’ he tells Namjoon. ‘We can take a different route back so that you get to see more of the castle.’

‘Go with them, Chaya,’ Alto tells his deck master, without looking at her, expecting her to follow his request without question. Chaya nods, following the young prince and the water ambassador’s son towards an arched entrance like a shadow.

Taehyung is used to being ignored, for people to ask him to leave. For his mother to barely acknowledge his existence, but it still makes something ugly hurt inside of him, like a broken bone that's healed wrong. A phantom pain that tells him that something is wrong, that he's lost something that should be his. The young prince doesn't look back to see if his mother is watching him or not. It doesn't matter, he tells himself, in Taehyung’s life very little does.

* * *

The throne room is filled with people. Tribesmen and women standing shoulder by shoulder in a half-circle around the Sieidi; a phantom quartz crystal resting on three small boulders placed on a bigger rock. Kazuki stands to the side of the Sieidi, her hand is resting on a young boy’s shoulder. She smiles when she spots Taehyung, it’s a toothy grin that makes her look both older and younger at the same time. Eyes creasing. A bonfire crackles behind her, growing bigger. ‘Child,’ Kazuki greets once they get close enough to be heard over the crowd. ‘So, tell me, did you win?’

‘Unfortunately not,’ Taehyung grumbles. ‘But it was close! I swear I almost had him!’ Kazuki chuckles, her earrings clinging together.

‘Very well,’ she smiles before turning towards the boy by her side. ‘Daichi has been kind enough to keep an old woman like me company while you boys were busy.’ Daichi flutters, his lips turning into an awkward grimace.

‘It-It was no trouble, your father asked me to help the crew carry some cargo up from the ship, I-I was going to head directly back, but–’

‘I'm sure father wouldn't mind if you stayed,’ Namjoon says, smiling, waving from behind Taehyung’s shoulder. ‘It's been long.’

‘Far too long,’ Kazuki agrees, offering Namjoon a tight hug. He is taller than her, outgrew her a year before Taehyung did much to the young prince’s annoyance. ‘Now, tell me, is there a cute water kingdom girl waiting for you back home?’ Namjoon groans, ignoring Taehyung’s large grin and Daishi’s poor attempt to disguise his laughter as an ill-fitting cough. The night is still young, Namjoon sends a silent prayer to Luna, may the gods have mercy on his soul.

‘We welcome the coming of spring, of new life. On a night such as this, a night of balance,’ Kazuki says, speaking loudly over the sound of her staff, drumming against the ground. ‘We ask Baeivi to help us guide those whose spirits are now with Akka. Spring is rebirth, a time of change.’ The old medium throws a green powder into the fire from a pouch attached to a belt around her waist, and the flames roar with life. The night feels alive. The moon’s round belly peeks out between swaying tree branches, casting a spotlight over the Sieidi. The throne room doesn't actually have a throne, it's the heart of the spirit tree. It's a circular room, with archways, leading like roots into the depths of the castle. Nature is not as present here, the ground free from vines and moss.

‘Is that the young prince?’ Taehyung can hear a child whisper, sitting on top of an older man’s shoulders. Her blonde hair is braided down her back, small hands resting on top of what must be her father’s head. The young prince smiles, despite himself, most people from his tribe wouldn't dare to speak about him, leave it to the innocence of a child to question their ways.

‘Shh, not so loud Gaia,’ the child’s father hushes. Taehyung turns his back towards them and forces himself to laugh at something Namjoon whispers in his ear without hearing the words. It's a poor attempt at distracting him, the young water kingdom boy has heard the child as well and is now watching the young prince with worry, heavy in his eyes.

‘Is that boy going to be king one day?’ The child asks and Taehyung can feel himself go rigid, the fire dancing in his eyes. He watches Kazuki raise her hand, cutting a shallow line across her palm with a silver knife, it's blade glowing a dull orange.

‘No, Gaia, now Please be quiet,’ the child’s father responds, voice short. Taehyung can feel a stab in his chest, he looks down, expecting to see Kazuki’s knife embedded between his ribs but there's nothing there, except for the beating of his own heart.

‘But why not?!’ The child continues, oblivious to her father’s distress. ‘Isn't he the prince–’

‘I’ll be right back,’ Taehyung tells Namjoon.

‘Taehyung–’ Namjoon whispers, reaching for him in an attempt to stop him from escaping.

‘Don't worry, I'll be right back’ he responds, offering Chaya and Daichi a quick, forced smile before he starts to push his way through the crowd, ignoring Namjoon’s worried gaze. His arms feel numb by his sides. He thought that his mother’s dismissal would one day stop hurting, that time would heal the wounds her emptiness left behind, but he was wrong. It will never stop hurting, Taehyung is just going to have to learn how to live with it.

Taehyung exits the throne room, walking down a narrow hallway. He can still hear the drumming from Kazuki’s staff, vibrating through the ground like a heartbeat. The light from the fire seeps through the arched entrance of the throne room like liquid copper, lighting up his path. He wished he knew why his mother won't even look at him. He never cared about being king all he wants is to feel like he belongs somewhere. It's difficult, being an outsider even to his own people. Taehyung sighs, petting Pip’s soft ears. The Parchin purrs softly, a humming sound that calms the boy enough to realize where his feet have taken him.

He's standing by one of the entrances to the garden, the night is still in the absence of Kazuki’s fire. He hasn't been in the garden by himself since he was young, waiting for his mother underneath one of the sycamore trees, for her to read him stories until the night became a comforting blanket, embracing them.

The young prince freezes by the sound of a voice, carried by the wind. He recognizes it immediately. He spots the water ambassador by the pavilion, in deep conversation with the queen of Woodhearth. Taehyung quickly hides behind the nearest tree, his back pressed firmly against it. ‘Be quiet, Pip!’ Taehyung scolds the Parchin, clinging to the front of his green jacket. Taehyung cranes his neck, making sure that his mother and the water ambassador still haven't seen him. Satisfied that his presence is still unknown Taehyung faces the tree, hands closing around its trunk before he looks up, studying it's luscious, green crown. The young boy takes a deep breath, making sure that his staff is safely secured against his back before he whispers Halddit’s name for good luck. Taking charge. Gravity almost seems to escape him, his feet desperately seeking for leverage, fingers digging into the bark. Taehyung takes a deep staggering breath once he manages to reach one of the trees low hanging branches, taking a hold of it and swinging upwards, until he is safely hidden in the trees green crown.

‘We are running out of time.’ Taehyung can hear Alto say, his words weaker than before, muffled by the rustling of leaves. Taehyung stands up in a crouch, making sure that the branch he is sitting on can hold his weight before he leaps forward with the night as his cover, landing safely in a neighboring tree. Taehyung has spent his life, jumping from tree crown to tree crown, he knows how to move between branches, how to mask his shadow behind small, green hands, and where to put his feet so he won't be heard. He is much closer to the water ambassador now, can hear his words loud and clear over the rippling sound of the river.

‘We have until next spring before the comet arrives and by then it will have been too late. We need to stop the Fire Nation before the comet. We have been clouded by our differences for far too long, the four nations need to work together. The war won't spare anyone this time. Not even Woodhearth,’ Alto says, hands folded in the sleeves of his robe.

‘You knew about the comet, long before I did,’ the queen says, her skin glowing in the moonlight. Taehyung sits still like a statue, his heart beating like a drum between his temples, if they found him up here, he has no idea what would happen but he doubts his mother would be happy.

‘It's been a hundred years since the last comet, during a time of peace. The fire nation has done its best to try to erase it from history. But word is spreading, now even to Woodhearth. It won't take long for the fire nation to learn that we know of it.’

‘You obviously came here for a reason, Alto. You always do, so what do you want this time?’ The queen asks, her voice rippling with the same soft hum as the river in the garden.

‘You can't keep the boy in the dark forever. Sooner or later he needs to find out,’ the water ambassador says. Taehyung leans forward, green leaves tickling his cheek.

‘What do you want from him? Do you want to put the fate of the war on a sixteen-year-old boy’s shoulders? I've always known you to be just Alto, but I've never known you to be cruel.’

‘I don't expect Taehyung to end this war, no man or woman is strong enough to stop this war by themselves, but just like you and me, he is a part of this. I thought you kept him from his fate because you thought he wasn't ready but I now know that such isn't the case. You can't keep him locked away here forever. Sooner or later he will found out.’

‘He's not ready,’ Taehyung can hear his mother say, voice like water freezing to ice and growing colder still.

‘You mean that you're not ready,’ Alto corrects, voice just as cold. ‘It's not right. The longer you wait the more damage you will do. He’s hurting Rana, surely you can see that.’

‘Shh,’ Taehyung whispers, glaring at Pip that's taken refuge in one of the higher tree branches, hissing at a firefly circling her head.

‘I'm protecting him,’ The queen responds.

‘Protecting him?’ Alto echoes, sounding furious. Taehyung has never heard the water ambassador angry before. ‘Protecting him from what? His own fate? Nothing you can do will change it.

‘What I choose to do with my own son is none of your concern,’ the queen responds.

‘Pip! Be quiet!’ Taehyung hisses but the Parchin is too busy fighting the firefly to listen. Taehyung reaches for her, worried that she will give their hiding place away. He's so busy with keeping Pip quiet that he almost misses what the water ambassador says next, but Alto’s words cut through him just as sharp as any knife.

‘He stopped being your son the second you started to treat him like the avatar,’ Alto says, voice harsh. Taehyung can feel his own knees buckle, the hand reaching for Pip falling to his side when he loses his footing. He comes crashing down, taking a couple of branches with him in his fall, twigs that never meant to hurt him cuts his bare skin like whips. The wind hisses in his ear, his heart beating in the same quick rhythm as the drumming still echoing through the halls of the throne room. The world is a blur and for a split second Taehyung swear he can hear his mother screaming his name before he lands in a pile of branches and limbs. His breath catching on nothing but pain. Red frames his vision, spreading like liquid over the black dots dancing before his eyes. Taehyung always thought that unconsciousness would be darkness, an empty unfeeling void but he was wrong. A white blinding light spreads like a fire inside him, swallowing him whole and taking over his vision until nothing else remains.

* * *

Taehyung opens his eyes, expecting pain to follow but his mind stays still and clear. His eyes immediately adjusting to the soft, blue light embracing him like a fog. The young prince quickly sits up, taking in his surroundings. He is not in Woodhearth anymore. Columns of crystallized rock stand like pillars, holding up the roof of what must be a cave but Taehyung has never been in a cave-like this before. The ground feels neutral to his touch, smooth and soft like polished glass. Blue globes of light that seem to float in the air, hang from the ceiling, casting long, underwater shadows over carved rocks. The young prince stands up, his movements easy like breathing. He walks forward in silent amazement, feeling light like a feather. ‘Am I dreaming?’ He whispers, expecting his words to come out in shapes and colors rather than sounds but his voice echoes between the cliff walls. Alive and real.

‘You're not dreaming,’ a voice responds and Taehyung quickly turns around. Air whistling in his ears, his surroundings shifting and changing with the sound of the voice. ‘Welcome, avatar Taehyung, to the lost city of Athia’s Fall.’ A city, to the likes of which Taehyung has never seen before spreads out before him. The cave is a carved out landscape of staggering towers and bridges. A waterfall pours down from the ceiling, it's water cascading down over rocks into a steady stream running through the cave. ‘I've been expecting you for some time now,’ Avatar Roku says. Smiling. They are standing underneath a cherry blossom tree that's in full bloom. Pink branches swaying in a nonexisting wind.

‘Am I dead?’ Taehyung asks, yet he doesn't feel scared. He feels peaceful, for the first time in ages. Light as if nothing is weighing him down.

‘Far from it,’ Roku responds. ‘As the Avatar, you're the bridge between the living world and the spirit world. When you're in the spirit world, your soul is free to wander. I called you here because there's something I need to show you.’ Roku makes a sweeping gesture towards the city, the sleeves of his robe billowing behind him. ‘So tell me, what do you see.’ Taehyung looks around, carefully studying the cave.

‘It looks man-made, but that's impossible, only an earth bender would have been able to create these structures…’

‘Over a hundred years ago, the five nations used to live in harmony, fire benders and water benders alike. Working together in order to create this city,’ Roku says, stroking a hand through his white beard. ‘Before we got blinded by our differences.’ A bright light, warm and alive like fire engulfs the cave. ‘The previous water queen Hali, learned of a comet, that arrives every hundredth year. After seeing a vision, of her city engulfed in flames, she decided to banish every firebender from her city, building a new Water Kingdom Capital on top of the old city of Athia’s fall.’ The light dies down, just as soon as it arrived, leaving them once again in darkness except for the blue orbs turning their skin into hues of blue. ‘Sozin used the comet to create his new kingdom and soon the world forgot, forgot that we used to be one people. As the Avatar it was my job to restore balance, and I tried. I spent years in the water kingdom, learning their ways, and mastering water bending. But as Sozin grew older he also became more paranoid and greedy with power. When I found out that he was planning an attack against the water kingdom, I tried to stop him. But it was too late.’

‘I thought you lead the red army against the water kingdom,’ Taehyung says, doubt seeping into his voice.

‘I rushed to warn the Water Kingdom, still hoping that I could prevent it, but I only managed to prepare them for what would come.’

‘The world thinks you betrayed them,’ the young prince says, taking a step closer to the old Avatar. ‘The world thinks you died, trying to turn Athia into ruins.’

‘So they do,’ Roku responds, his dark eyes glittering. ‘I couldn't stand by and watch, I tried to stop the war, caught in the middle of the battle but there was nothing I could do, the harm had already been done. The war had already started. I fell, down into the deep water of the Sapphire sea and when I woke up, I woke up in this city and that's when I realized what my purpose as the avatar would be. To help the next avatar do what I couldn't. To end the war.’

‘I can't,’ Taehyung whispers. ‘I'm just a boy from Woodhearth, I don't even know how to bend the elements, my people aren't benders. I've never even been outside of the Meliai Forest. I don't know how to stop a war. I can't do it by myself.’ Roku smiles.

‘I never said you had to be alone.’ The air around them shimmer, shifting like something alive. Taehyung blinks and when he opens his eyes again he is surrounded by people, standing shoulder to shoulder in a circle around them. The young prince recognizes them, from history books and monuments all over the world. It's the past Avatars. ‘You have to master all the four elements before next spring and the return of Sozin’s comet.’

‘I can't!’ Taehyung screams with fear heavy in his chest. ‘I don't know anything about bending! I didn't even know I was the avatar until just now, I can't do it!’

‘I know you can do it, Taehyung,’ Roku says, speaking as one with the people standing around them. ‘Because you have done it before.’ The past Avatars smiles at him, the cave engulfed in light. ‘We have faith in you, Avatar Taehyung.’

* * *

The queen of Woodhearth sits by her son’s bedside. Her son’s Parchin, Pip, is as asleep in her lap and she strokes it's soft fur absentmindedly, in silent comfort. Rana has never been good with words. She was born in the spirit tree, learned its language long before she could talk. Grew up to the creaking sound of old roots settling, to the whispering rustle of leaves and branches dancing in the wind. She knows nature better than she knows man. Can sing in harmony to wildflowers blooming in early spring and whisper words of encouragement in order to make even the most stubborn azalea bloom. She knows how to comfort, how to breathe life back into withering plants.

She is not as good with people, never understood the complexity behind their language. A language of hidden words and meanings, of careless promises and emotions, expressed so easily. After her parents died, her mother first from a long-lasting illness that took root and spread like a weed and then her father a year later from heartbreak, Rana thought that she would be alone forever. Despite Kazuki’s constant presence and rambling words she stopped speaking, grew distant, and absent until all she knew was the spirit tree’s humming voice. She would still be lost in it, had it not been for Taehyung’s father. A traveler from the Fire Nation but without the power of bending. It was as if Akka had seen her lonely heart and decided to give her the sun as comfort. Taehyung’s father had been her bridge back into the world. With dark eyes that always danced with laughter, he taught her how to smile again. He had been an outsider, so different from the people of her tribe with his fiery red hair and a booming laugh that made the forest feel alive again for the first time since her parents died. He was an outsider but in a way so was she lost to the same forest she had grown up protecting. They had loved each other, different as night and day yet together they had found a balance. Then the war came, creeping closer and closer to their part of the world until they could no longer ignore it. War takes, just like fire does, with endless hunger. It burns everything to the ground and turns it to ash. People are no exception. She knew that she had already lost him, from the second he had decided to leave. Unable to stand back and watch his own nation consume the world in flames. It had never been an option to ask him to stay. If Rana has learned anything during her long life, it is this; in love we find out who we want to be, in war we find out who we are.

Rana had cried once she realized that she carried life within her, a son. Taehyung looked almost nothing like her, he was the spitting image of his father. With his fiery, red hair and eyes that danced with laughter and joy. She had been happy that she could see so little of herself in the boy and so much of the man she loved. She thought that she would never have to be lonely again, never suffer the pain from heartbreak or loss but that was before she had found out that her son was the Avatar and her world had come crumbling down all over again. Leaving nothing but ruins and the promise of loneliness behind. She knew that she would never be strong enough to send her son away, watching him run around the spirit tree her heart had ached heavily with love. She had lost so much already, her parents, the father to her son, she couldn't lose Taehyung as well. Was not strong enough to part with him, so she sent him away. Before she got too weak to do so. She couldn't be the mother to her son, as a mother she wouldn't be strong enough to do what must be done, no she needed to be a queen first. The world had depended on it. But as the years went by and Taehyung grew Rana realized that love is a chain that can't be broken, can't be willed away, or even burned. She couldn't tell Taehyung of his real fate, because the road the Avatar must walk on is a very lonely road indeed. And loneliness can eat at your soul until nothing else is left. The queen of Woodhearth sighs, watching her son sleep. She knows that she failed him, she just hopes that it isn't too late to make things right.

* * *

Taehyung stirs slowly. The world coming back to him in bits and pieces. The first thing to register is touch. He can feel the soft sigh from the mattress underneath him, his fingers tracing over the sheets, trying to find something to hold onto. ‘Taehyung.’ A voice grounds him. He groans, opening his eyes. White, bright light momentary blinds him, he blinks, eyelids fluttering to the rhythm of his pounding headache. He can hear the gentle whisper of fabric moving followed by his mother’s light footsteps and the swooshing sound from heavy curtains closing. ‘I'm sorry,’ his mother whispers, voice gentle. ‘I thought the moon wouldn't trouble you.’ Taehyung opens his eyes again, slowly. Moonlight seeps in through a cap between dark blue curtains, leaving the room in dim, silver light, washing out most colors. He recognizes the room as his mother’s bedroom. Stacks of books rest on her bedside table, Taehyung eyes scan the titles; The history of the Fire Nation, The battle of Vox, The legend of the last Avatar. Taehyung swallows, closing his eyes again.

‘How are you feeling?’ His mother asks.

‘Like I just fell out of a tree and got my world turned upside down,’ he responds, Roku’s voice is still echoing inside his mind. He can't believe how much has changed since this morning, he thought that all he would have to worry about until next spring would be how to finally beat Alto in a game of mahjong, and now he has to stop a war. Yet Taehyung guesses a part of him has always known, known that he was different. At least now he knows why. He can feel a dip in the mattress by his feet. Taehyung opens his eyes again, staring right into his mother’s searching gaze. He hates that her presence still manages to calm him, how even now he wants nothing more but to seek out her touch. For her to care for him as a mother should. Taehyung can feel a soft nudge by his shoulder. Pip is asleep on the pillow next to him, her warm fur rising and falling in time with her soft breathing.

‘I realize now, how much pain I must have caused you, and I'm sorry. I thought I had more time, that I was protecting you from the truth, but I wasn't protecting you, I was keeping you from it out of my own selfishness. I understand if you don't trust me but I care for you, more than anything in this world.’

‘I never asked you to,’ Taehyung whispers, keeping his own voice low over the pounding in his ears, his voice is hoarse, he can't help but wonder if he screamed while he fell but he can't remember, can't remember anything except the feeling of gravity trying to reel him back in. ‘I never asked for any of this.’ Fur tickles his cheek, followed by a soft purr close to his ear. The Parchin nudges him with her wet nose before settling again. Purring happily now that the young boy is awake, cooling some of his anger.

‘I know you didn't,’ his mother responds. ‘And I'm afraid my actions haven't made it any easier. It was selfish of me to send you away. I feared that if I grew to love you as a mother should I would never have been able to let you go.’ Taehyung turns his eyes towards her, his hands are a dead weight in his lap. Red hair sticking to his forehead from a thin layer of sweat. ‘But I should have known that nothing is as unbreakable as a mother's love, and even though you are now sitting before me as the Avatar, I can't help but love you as my son.’ The young prince lets go of a shuddering breath, shoulders crumbling inwards. This morning he would have given anything to hear his mother speak those words to him. To have her look at him with love or even the worry that is now creasing her eyebrows. He doesn't know what to feel or what to think, he doesn't even know who he is anymore. Everyone has been lying to him, even Kazuki must have known. He feels betrayed, his heart heavy with fear and anger. Taehyung is not a friend of anger, he doesn't like the way it makes him feel, anger has never been a part of his nature. Kazuki always used to say that anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than anything on which it is poured. He doesn't like it, doesn't like the way it burns like fire in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't fair, but as he firmly reminded himself, Fair was a child’s word and he was no child. The spirits has thought him better than that, Akka is about forgiveness, about love and hope. At least now, Taehyung feels hope for the first time in ages. At least now, he feels like he has a place in this world where he belongs.

‘I just wish you would have told me, I just wish things could have been different,’ the young prince whispers.

‘Everyone has their own secret sorrows, which the world knows little about, and often someone will seem cold when they are simply sad. I grieved you, for most of your life as if I had already lost you, but I never stopped loving you. Not for a second. I did not raise you, nor hold you as a mother should but you will always be my son.’ Taehyung can feel tears prickling in his eyes, his vision growing blurry. ‘After your father died I thought I knew loneliness, but I realize now you must have been lonely too.’

‘I was,’ Taehyung whispers but he realizes now, speaking the words out loud that he never was. He has Kazuki, always there, watching over him with all the love and affection her old heart could offer. Reading him stories, teaching him how to communicate with the spirits, forcing him to accompany her on her daily quests. He has Alto and Namjoon, both ready to defend him and fight for him without Taehyung even asking them to do so. ‘You have until your 18th birthday to beat me in a game of Mahjong,’ the water ambassador had told him when he was thirteen, a promise that he would be there until then and years after. He has Pip and the forest and until now, unknown to him, he had his mother as well. Rana has lived years alone in the castle, losing her parents, her husband, and thinking she lost her son as well. Taehyung might have wished for more, a place he could belong to but he did have a place. He was just too blinded by his own pain to realize. To realize he is loved. He looks at his mother, the queen looks older than he remembers, lines he has not seen until now wrinkles her beautiful face. ‘I thought I was,’ Taehyung corrects himself. ‘But I realize now that I never was.’

‘And you never will be,’ his mother responds. ‘You have a light inside of you, a kindness that people will always be drawn to, no matter what happens, no matter where you go, I promise you, you'll never be alone. I've always known that as the avatar, the forest would one day be too small for you, that when you were old enough you'd leave but nothing gives me more hope than knowing that you're the avatar.’

‘I can't be the Avatar, I'm not strong enough,’ Taehyung whispers. A traitorous tear escapes down his cheek and Taehyung angrily wipes it away with the sleeve of his shirt.

‘Strength is kindness, strength is trust and a brave heart, when it comes to strength I think you are one of the best of us.’ Tears roll heavy down Taehyung’s cheeks, falling like glittering stars down his lap, turning his sheets a shade darker. Before the young prince knows what’s happening his mother has her arms around him. She smells like spring, like the azaleas in the garden. He lets himself bury his nose against her shoulder. Breathing her in. Hi's mother's hold around him is not forced nor is it constricting. He feels light in her arms. Secure, as he belongs there. His heart aches with something that is not anger but rather hope. I hope that he belongs, that he is wanted and loved. Relief floods him, loosening his muscles until he is nothing more but dead weight in his mother’s arms. Her hands are soft, stroking comforting circles over the small of his back, and Taehyung can't help but think that the moment was all, the moment was enough. Because Taehyung knows now, that he is very, very loved.

* * *

‘Take care of yourself, you hear me?’ Kazuki tells the young boy, ruffling his unruly red hair. ‘I don't care if you're the avatar or not, you can still catch a cold.’ Taehyung shakes his head, offering the old woman a toothy, boxy smile that makes his eyes sparkle with mischief.

‘I'm going to miss you,’ he tells her. His pointy ears twitching with the excitement of what lays ahead. His mother has agreed to let Taehyung travel with the water ambassador and his son to the water kingdom, to learn water bending from one of their masters. Alto’s crew is busy with stocking up the ship. The docks are full of movement and people. The green waters of the Saavje fjord are glittering in the sunlight, promising adventure. Taehyung has spent the night packing, too restless for sleep. He doesn't have much with him, except for his staff, Pip, and a part of the spirit tree’s root that Kazuki gave him this morning.

‘Know that you are loved Taehyung, and remember to keep your heart safe, it's your biggest treasure,’ the old medium tells him and Taehyung surprises her by throwing his arms around her. She smells like the forest, like spices and old scrolls. She smells like home.

‘Thank you,’ Taehyung whispers, Kazuki returns his hug, her bony fingers tight around his back. ‘Thank you for everything.’ The old woman pulls back enough so that she can look at the young prince, her eyes greedily roaming his face as if she is trying to etch it into memory.

‘Don't forget to write,’ she tells him. ‘The forest is going to be a lonely place without you.’

‘Preparing to board!’ Chaya yells from the ship. She looks like a warrior queen, dressed in her dark armor that gleams dully in the sun. Taehyung turns towards his mother. The queen of the Meliai forest is watching him with soft eyes. She looks foreign next to the water ambassadors big ship, it's blue sails ready to let the wind carry it safely out to sea. It must be years since she left the safe halls of the spirit tree. Her bare feet and the hem of her white skirt are dirty from soil. She looks younger like this, without the weight of her son’s fate on her shoulders.

‘Have a safe trip,’ she tells her son, her voice soft like a whispering wind but there's a weight to her words, a warning to the rest of the world, to not harm her son. As if her words are enough to promise them safe passage. Taehyung lets go of Kazuki, turning towards the woman he once used to mourn the loss of. The mother he never thought he had, but the young prince knows now, that he doesn't have a mother, he has two. Two women that would give their life for him, that would turn heaven and earth upside down in order to make sure he is safe. Taehyung doesn't hesitate, he wraps his arms around his mother, just like he did with Kazuki. He is surprised to find himself a head taller than her. To find her warm, made out of the same flesh and blood that he is. She hesitates for only a second before she returns the hug. They stay like that for what feels like minutes, like mother and son. Letting the embrace speak for itself, all the words they still can't say out loud. All the promises, and regret, and the years they've lost. Taehyung knows now, that his mother must have hurt more than him, must have felt so incredibly lonely, walking the halls of the spirit tree with nothing but her shadow as a company. ‘Your father would have been proud,’ Rana tells her son. Taehyung lets her go and takes a step back. Grinning from ear to ear.

‘Thank you, mother,’ the young prince responds.

‘Now, enough of this,’ Kazuki teases. ‘You have an adventure waiting for you.’ Taehyung waves them goodbye one last time, turning around to walk the ramp up towards the ship, feeling light as a feather.

‘Are you ready to leave, avatar Taehyung?’ Alto greets him once he is on board. The water ambassador has a compass resting in the palm of his hand, puffing on his pipe and breathing out clouds of smoke. Namjoon is standing by his father’s side, his back tall. Dimples framing his smile.

‘Yeah,’ Taehyung says, turning his gaze once more towards the docks, eyes roaming the green hills of the forest that has been his home for these past sixteen years, a home he thought he would never leave. ‘I am.’

‘Good,’ Alto responds, his dark blue eyes glittering like the sea. ‘Welcome onboard The Mikazuki Maru, avatar Taehyung.’

* * *

In another part of the world, the firstborn fire prince, Jeon Jungkook is watching the sun go down over his own kingdom. Turning the sky into a bowl of red, hot boiling soup. The sky looks angry, Jungkook thinks. Just like the flames flickering in the open fire behind him, engulfing his back in orange light and turning every shadow into something twisted and living. Jungkook hates it, hates Blackport, and the castle that is more like a cage than a home. The city’s great walls cut the sky in half, shielding the last traces of the evening sun, leaving the city in darkness except for the many streetlights that light up the roads, leading like blood vessels from the black, beating heart that is the Castle of Obsidian Pyre.

Jungkook doesn't look back when he hears the sound of footsteps approaching him, already knowing whom they belong to; light and even like a deadly predator’, closing in on its prey. ‘A copper piece for your thoughts, dear brother,’ his sister says, in her mocking, sing-song voice. Coming to stand next to him until their shoulders are brushing against each other.

‘What do you want, Kaori?’ Jungkook asks, not in the mood to engage in his sister’s schemes.

‘Oh, Kookie, don't be like that, it's not my fault father managed to get your good side,’ Kaori responds, giving the scar, marring the right side of Jungkook's face a sideways glance. It is still healing, the flesh around his right eye is red and angry, it's a wonder the healers managed to save his sight. Jungkook keeps his face passive, not wanting to give Kaori the pleasure to watch him give in to her teasing. It still hurts, the burn from his father's fire. His sister giggles, her voice high and clear like a songbird. ‘This is what you get for spending so much time with our dear uncle, his a traitor Kookie, his son’s death has made him weak and now he has made you weak too.’

‘Love is not weakness,’ Jungkook answers, his voice tight. Kaori laughs again, her shoulders shaking, it's a cruel sound, lacking humor and warmth, just like his sister’s blue fire. She wipes an invisible tear from her cheek, smiling, her teeth sharp like razor blades before her expression turns cold.

‘Love?’ She echoes, tasting the word. ‘Love is loyalty, you think uncle loves you, that he is loyal to you? That peace loving idiot is just trying to use you, trying to turn you against your family. Love…’ She sighs. ‘It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.’ Jungkook clenches his hands by his sides, his knuckles turning white. He closes his eyes, forcing himself to take a calming breath. Ever since he got his scar, his inner fire has been unpredictable, fueling on his pain and anger, clouding his thoughts and spreading like an angry rach, itching underneath his skin as if his body is suddenly too small to hold it.

‘I know you think I'm a failure, for speaking out against father, but I can't just sit back and watch him turn the world to ash. Surely you can see that what we are doing is wrong?’ He says. Kaori looks at her brother, can see the battle his fighting behind those amber eyes of his, mirroring her own. She hates her brother’s eyes, hates the way he looks at her. As if he sees all the parts he hates about himself reflected in her gaze, but Jungkook is wrong. She is not weak like him, all the things Jungkook thinks makes him weak; his anger, his fire bending and his untrusting hearth, are all things that make her strong. She hums, licking her lips.

‘Do you think you’re doing mother proud, acting like a spoilt child?’ She asks, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Jungkook turns his pained gaze towards her.

‘Must you always answer with another question?’

‘Sometimes the best answer is a more interesting question,’ Kaori responds, folding her arms behind her back.

‘You're impossible,’ Jungkook whispers, turning to leave. She doesn't like that part of her brother either, hates that he is always the first one to back down.

‘Father is planning to marry you off to some nobleman's daughter from the Wind Lands, he was going to banish you, but I convinced him to spare your life, you should be grateful, Kookie. At least now you can still be of use, and we both know that you would never survive even a year by yourself with nothing but your own cynic thoughts for company.’ Jungkook’s shoulders go rigid, his steps faltering. Kaori smiles, the fire dancing in her eyes.

‘You're lying,’ he responds without looking at her.

‘Don't flatter yourself, baby brother. You're hardly worth the effort, I thought you would be grateful, I saved your life but what do I know, perhaps in death, you would have managed to regain your honor.’ Jungkook doesn't respond, instead, he leaves; Kaori always lies. Jungkook reminds himself, over and over again; _Don't listen to Kaori, Kaori always, always lies_.

* * *

Toshiro loves his nephew, wants nothing more but for the boy to finally find peace within himself. He will never forget the day his brother challenged the boy to an Agni Kai. It had been a dark day for the history of the Fire Nation. Jungkook had spoken out against the war, questioning one of his father’s officers. Toshiro had expected the officer to challenge the boy for his rudeness, but he hadn't expected his brother to fight in the officer's stead. To challenge his sixteen-year-old son and scar him for life. Toshiro had sat by his nephew's bedside that night, watching him twist and turn, pain wracking through his body like a minor earthquake. ‘Kill me, please,’ Jungkook has whispered and it had broken Toshiro’s heart. Jungkook deserves better, his nephew is a kind soul, his heart big and giving. It's been three months since the Agni Kai and during that time Toshiro has overwatched the constant battle taking place within the boy, questioning his own fate. The old man sighs, leaning back in his chair, rereading the letter that was sent to him by Water Ambassador Alto. They have been friends for decades, it's a friendship that crosses borders, and would have him hanged should word ever get out. The letter only contains three words; Hope is with us. The avatar is alive. This could either be Jungkook’s making or his undoing. A knock interrupts the old man’s thoughts and Toshiro quickly burns the letter, watching it go up in flames between his fingers, until nothing remains but ash. ‘Uncle?’ A hesitant voice asks.

‘Jungkook, come in, please, sit down,’ Toshiro smiles at his nephew. The boy looks pale as a ghost, haunting the halls of the castle like a broken spirit ever since his father’s abuse because that's what Jungkook has suffered, abuse. A father is never supposed to raise a hand towards any of his children, no matter what.

‘You asked for me,’ Jungkook says, sitting down in the chair opposite his uncle.

‘Yes, yes,’ Toshiro responds, standing up and walking towards a nearby tea set. He pours two cups, warming them with his fire before he sits down again, offering one of the cups to his nephew. Jungkook doesn't hesitate to accept it. ‘I want you to know that I am proud of you.’

‘I know uncle,’ Jungkook responds, the boy has been wearing his hair down ever since the Agni Kai, his long fringe shielding both his scar and most of his eyes. The spark, that used to lighten up his nephew's amber gaze has died down, leaving nothing but a shadow behind. An empty acceptance that gets beaten into you once hope has been beaten out. Toshiro will never forgive himself for not being able to stop his brother from harming the boy, he will carry that regret, like a scar on his heart until the day he dies and if there is a life after this one he will carry it into the next one too.

‘Good,’ Toshiro smiles, leaning forward and taking a silver compass out of his chest pocket. Its round face gleams dully in the light, absorbing the warm hues from the many candles burning in his study. A half-moon is engraved into its skin and for a couple of seconds the only thing that can be heard is a quiet, ticking noise. ‘We are more than the things that happen to us, we are the choices we make,’ Toshiro says, putting down the compass in front of his nephew. ‘I think of you as my own son and even though I couldn't save Haru, I won't sit back and let this family be the death of you too.’’

‘Uncle…’ Jungkook whispers, head bent low. Toshiro doesn't speak of his own son often, even though it's been years since Haru’s death the loss of his only son nearly broke him. A parent should never have to bury their children.

‘This compass is not a regular compass, it won't point you north but hopefully, it will point you in the right direction,’ Toshiro smiles, sadly, his eyes, that is the same amber color as the rest of their family shines with unshed tears, tears for his nephew, tears for his dead son that he didn't have the power to save. Jungkook accepts the compass from his uncle's outstretched hand. It feels cool in the palm of his hand yet alive, fluttering like the heart of a small bird. Toshiro will never apologize for the tears he spills over his son’s death, grief changes people, it thought him what truly matters in this world; love. Love is hope, a force that keeps people going, which makes them strong instead of weak.

‘What do you want me to do with this, uncle?’ Jungkook asks, his eyebrows furrowed. The scar on the right side of his face makes him look a lot older than his sixteen years because no sixteen years old should ever have to carry such a heavy thing.

‘The avatar is alive,’ Toshiro responds, his voice soft. His nephew’s eyes widen and he quickly stands up, his face haunted.

‘We have to tell father––’

‘–You can either help your father find the avatar or you can leave by your own will, as your own man and find yourself,’ Toshiro interrupts the boy, staring up at his nephew with calm eyes.

‘You'll ask this of me? To betray my own family–’ Jungkook laughs without humor, shaking his head in disbelief. ‘I can’t believe it, Kaori was right. You’re just using me for your own personal gain.’ Toshiro's fist collides with his desk, spilling the tea from the two cups on his desk.

‘I'm not asking you to do anything, I just want you to think for yourself—‘

‘I can’t!’ Jungkook screams. ‘Look what happened last time!’ He walks up to his uncle, putting his left-hand flat against the desk and leaning in. A single candle sits between them, turning his nephew’s face into a haggard painting, making his features seem sharp and his eyes feverish. ‘This,’ Jungkook says, voice broken, roughly pushing his fringe away from his face. ‘This is what happens, every time I think I’m doing the right thing…’ Angry tears cloud his nephew’s vision, tears he won’t let fall. Toshiro watches the boy with sad eyes.

‘You have a good heart, Jungkook. And a good heart is a heavy burden. That’s why it hurts so much. Because you know that what your father is doing is wrong. You’ll never be able to find yourself as long as you're lost in the person people expect you to be.’

‘There’s a difference between speaking out against father and actively betraying my family,’ Jungkook responds, his breath hot.

‘Not to them, not anymore. And now when you don’t have to be perfect anymore you can be good.’ His nephew sits down, crumbling into the chair behind him, his face hidden in the palm of his hands. Shoulders shaking from the conflict taking place within him. A battle no one his age should have to fight.

‘I don’t know what to do, uncle,’ Jungkook looks at his uncle between his fingers, voice hoarse like he has been screaming for hours. ‘I don’t—‘ Toshiro gets up from his chair, walking over to his nephew and crouching down in front of him.

‘The compass has a twin, a twin owned by water ambassador Alto that is currently sailing towards the city of Athia’s Fall together with the avatar. He is going to need a fire bending teacher and I can’t think of anyone else that would be better suited than you. The comet is less than a year away, and the avatar is going to need as many allies as he can get.’ The comet had been the reason for his nephew’s Agni Kai. The Fire Lord wants to use the comet to take over the water kingdom's last standing city and burn the city of Vox to the ground. Jungkook had been horrified, ‘it’s not just,’ the boy had said ‘there’s no honor in fighting such a battle.’ The boy had been right of course, but the Fire Lord had seen it as a betrayal.

‘Don’t let your past define your future. Don’t let your sister and father tell you what is right. Listen to your heart, my son. Let your heart be your guide and your kindness your strength. Sometimes we have to fall in order to learn how to rise.’

‘Uncle,’ Jungkook whispers, and Toshiro doesn’t hesitate to throw his arms around the boy, keeping him close.

‘Listen to your heart,’ Toshiro repeats. ‘And I promise you, you’ll find your way.’


End file.
